MOC: Steampunk Qwena: The new outfit

Sometimes an idea to a MOC (or, as in this case, mod) appears in a dream. I don't remember in what kind of dream the idea of using Queen Anne's Revenge's sails as a dress came into my brain, but I think it had pretty much nothing to do with the rest of that dream.

Before buying those sails from Bricklink I looked up their sizes and proportions and made a paper copies of them so I could plan the MOC beforehand. Later I realized that the copies were a bit too small, but well, MOCing and life are full of surprises...

I ordered the sails along ofter stuff from Bricklink shop De lütte Steene Deel which seems to get closed right now. It's a very well working store and excellent package, I would recommend this seller to anyone when the store opens again.

There are also some other changes done in Qwena on this update. I made the hat a bit taller with cool stickered TECHNIC hub which worked well with the golden goggles. I also altered the boots a bit, adding a lot more golden buttons connected to tracks. I kept the hip-bag of the old version, but added a rohirrim shield hanging on a golden chain as a pocked watch, which are often seen hanging on a belt on steampunk costumes.

I also completely rebuilt the neck/upper chest area. To be honest, the simple black HF-joint of the old version looked terrible and was a very lazy choice, as some of you noted to me on Flickr (as you can see, your critic was taken seriously; congratulate yourselves, or take a donut). But making it better wasn't easy either. Actually, it was among the hardest things I have ever built, especially because I first used old-style ball joint and had to take the full thing apart to switch it into 2008-style to get more friction. The section is pretty much SYSTEM, and there are also pieces that are connected only via friction (Okay, pretty much all LEGO pieces are connected via friction, but I guess you know what I mean). But I'm happy with it, even when It's not as stable as the old version. But it stays together on display.

This MOC was also quite painful to photograph. No, I'm not talking about the white-on-white issue, I dealt with it quite well on Gimp. I'm talking about the wind. It fell down two times on the porch and I had to pick up the pieces and built some areas again. A herd of mosquitoes didn't help at all, as this is still the gorram summer of Finland. So, I took most of the photos inside, with a bit worse lighting. You can see them on Brickshelf gallery.

-Pate-keetongu